Ezekiel 3

1 And He says to me, “Son of man, eat that which you find, eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”

And he said to me, Son of man, take this roll for your food, and go and say my words to the children of Israel.

2 And I open my mouth, and He causes me to eat this scroll.

And, on my opening my mouth, he made me take the roll as food.

3 And He says to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I am giving to you”; and I eat it, and it is as honey for sweetness in my mouth.

And he said to me, Son of man, let your stomach make a meal of it and let your inside be full of this roll which I am giving you. Then I took it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.

4 And He says to me, “Son of man, go forth, go to the house of Israel, and you have spoken to them with My words.

And he said to me, Son of man, go now to the children of Israel, and say my words to them.

5 For you [are] not sent to a people deep of lip and heavy of tongue—to the house of Israel;

For you are not sent to a people whose talk is strange and whose language is hard, but to the children of Israel;

6 not to many peoples, deep of lip and heavy of tongue, whose words you do not understand. If I had not sent you to them—they listen to you,

Not to a number of peoples whose talk is strange and whose language is hard and whose words are not clear to you. Truly, if I sent you to them they would give ear to you.

7 but the house of Israel are not willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to Me, for all the house of Israel are brazen-faced and strong-hearted.

But the children of Israel will not give ear to you; for they have no mind to give ear to me: for all the children of Israel have a hard brow and a stiff heart.

8 Behold, I have made your face strong against their face, and your forehead strong against their forehead.

See, I have made your face hard against their faces, and your brow hard against their brows.

9 As an adamant, harder than a rock, I have made your forehead; do not fear them, nor are you frightened before them, for they [are] a house of rebellion.”

Like a diamond harder than rock I have made your brow: have no fear of them and do not be overcome by their looks, for they are an uncontrolled people.

10 And He says to me, “Son of man, all My words that I speak to you, receive with your heart, and hear with your ears;

Then he said to me, Son of man, take into your heart all my words which I am about to say to you, and let your ears be open to them.

11 and go forth, go to the expulsion, to the sons of your people, and you have spoken to them, and have said to them: Thus said Lord YHWH; whether they hear, or whether they refrain.”

And go now to those who have been taken away as prisoners, to the children of your people, and say to them, This is what the Lord has said; if they give ear or if they do not.

12 And a spirit lifts me up, and I hear a noise behind me, a great rushing—“Blessed [is] the glory of YHWH from His place!”

Then I was lifted up by the wind, and at my back the sound of a great rushing came to my ears when the glory of the Lord was lifted up from his place.

13 Even a noise of the wings of the living creatures touching one another, and a noise of the wheels alongside them, even a noise of a great rushing.

And there was the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another, and the sound of the wheels at their side, the sound of a great rushing.

14 And [the] Spirit has lifted me up, and takes me away, and I go bitterly, in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of YHWH [is] strong on me.

And the wind, lifting me up, took me away: and I went in the heat of my spirit, and the hand of the Lord was strong on me.

15 And I come to the expulsion, at Tel-Ahib, who are dwelling at the river Chebar, and where they are dwelling I also dwell [for] seven days, causing astonishment in their midst.

Then I came to those who had been taken away as prisoners, who were at Telabib by the river Chebar, and I was seated among them full of wonder for seven days.

16 And it comes to pass, at the end of seven days,

And at the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

17 that there is a word of YHWH to me, saying, “Son of man, I have given you [as] a watchman to the house of Israel, and you have heard a word from My mouth, and have warned them from Me.

Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the children of Israel: so give ear to the word of my mouth, and give them word from me of their danger.

18 In My saying to the wicked: You surely die; and you have not warned him, nor have spoken to warn the wicked from his wicked way, so that he lives; he—the wicked—dies in his iniquity, and I require his blood from your hand.

When I say to the evil-doer, Death will certainly be your fate; and you give him no word of it and say nothing to make clear to the evil-doer the danger of his evil way, so that he may be safe; that same evil man will come to death in his evil-doing; but I will make you responsible for his blood.

19 And you, because you have warned the wicked, and he has not turned back from his wickedness, and from his wicked way, he dies in his iniquity, and you have delivered your soul.

But if you give the evil-doer word of his danger, and he is not turned from his sin or from his evil way, death will overtake him in his evil-doing; but your life will be safe.

20 And in the turning back of the righteous from his righteousness, and he has done perversity, and I have put a stumbling-block before him, he dies; because you have not warned him, he dies in his sin, and his righteousness that he has done is not remembered, and I require his blood from your hand.

Again, when an upright man, turning away from his righteousness, does evil, and I put a cause of falling in his way, death will overtake him: because you have given him no word of his danger, death will overtake him in his evil-doing, and there will be no memory of the upright acts which he has done; but I will make you responsible for his blood.

21 And you, because you have warned him—the righteous—that the righteous does not sin, and he has not sinned, he surely lives, because he has been warned; and you have delivered your soul.”

But if you say to the upright man that he is not to do evil, he will certainly keep his life because he took note of your word; and your life will be safe.

22 And there is a hand of YHWH on me there, and He says to me, “Rise, go forth to the valley, and there I speak with you.”

And the hand of the Lord was on me there; and he said, Get up and go out into the valley and there I will have talk with you.

23 And I rise and go forth to the valley, and behold, there the glory of YHWH is standing as the glory that I had seen by the river Chebar, and I fall on my face.

Then I got up and went out into the valley; and I saw the glory of the Lord resting there as I had seen it by the river Chebar; and I went down on my face.

24 And [the] Spirit comes into me, and causes me to stand on my feet, and He speaks with me, and says to me, “Go in, be shut up in the midst of your house.

Then the spirit came into me and put me on my feet; and he had talk with me and said to me, Go and keep yourself shut up inside your house.

25 And you, son of man, behold, they have put thick bands on you, and have bound you with them, and you do not go forth in their midst;

But see, O son of man, I will put bands on you, prisoning you in them, and you will not go out among them:

26 and I cause your tongue to cleave to your palate, and you have been mute, and are not for a reprover to them, for they [are] a house of rebellion.

And I will make your tongue fixed to the roof of your mouth, so that you have no voice and may not make protests to them: for they are an uncontrolled people.

27 And in My speaking with you, I open your mouth, and you have said to them: Thus said Lord YHWH; the hearer hears, and the refrainer refrains; for they [are] a house of rebellion.”

But when I have talk with you I will make your mouth open, and you are to say to them, This is what the Lord has said: Let the hearer give ear; and as for him who will not, let him keep his ears shut: for they are an uncontrolled people.